Monkey Shoulder debuts first outdoor media campaign to support the nation’s bars and pubs

October 8th, 2020

Alcohol Announcements COVID-19 Crucial Creative

The New Rules of Mixing was a winner in Ocean Outdoor’s Crucial Creative Competition

Whisky brand Monkey Shoulder has launched its first ever out of home media campaign designed to get customers safely back into local bars and pubs in line with Government guidance on Covid-19 safety measures.

Produced by agency Tommy, ‘The New Rules for Mixing’ is a playful take on the brand’s ‘made for mixing’ tagline, using Monkey Shoulder’s cheeky tone and distinctive branding to bring to life the social distancing measures in a memorable way.

Monkey Shoulder was one of the winners of Ocean’s Crucial Creative Competition which was designed to help businesses get back to work after UK lockdown measures were lifted.

The £250,000 campaign is running on Ocean screens in 10 cities, supported by a hyper-localised adverts designed to benefit the struggling hospitality industry. To do this, Monkey Shoulder has invested in 10 bar partners across eight cities, each of which are independent operators who have been impacted by the pandemic.

Each partner bar’s ad has a unique visual highlighting a different socially-distanced rule. The rules include reminding patrons to wash their hands, wear a mask, not to sing or shout, socially distance and to give other customers space.

To further drive footfall and encourage people to visit their locals, Monkey Shoulder is offering a free drink at all of the partnered bars, a call to action which is supported across social media channels.

Ocean Outdoor joint managing director Phil Hall said: “This idea scored points for being a hyper-localised campaign that is scalable and transferable across the entire out of home industry.

“Another nice touch is the gifting of the advertising space to local bars and pubs, targeting footfall to nearby establishments, the bespoke copy topped off with a trial voucher. This is what out of home is all about.”

The Crucial Creative Competition replaced Ocean’s long running annual digital creative contest which is postponed until 2021.